NHL Three Stars: Crosby, Murray lead Pens; Budaj blanks Flames

No. 1 Stars: Matt Murray / Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

Murray recorded his second career shutout with 32 saves and Crosby scored his NHL-best seventh and eighth goals of the season during a 5-0 win over the San Jose Sharks. Carl Hagelin led all players with three assists, while both of Crosby’s goals came in interesting ways:

No. 2 Star: Calvin Pickard, Colorado Avalanche

Gabriel Landeskog scored the only goal of the game midway through the third period and Pickard stopped all 32 shots he faced as the Avs blanked the Minnesota Wild 1-0. The shutout was the second of Pickard’s career. Landeskog’s goal came on the power play, which was Colorado’s first goal in over 164 minutes of action.

No. 3 Stars: Peter Budaj / Devin Setoguchi, Los Angeles Kings

The pair were key contributors for the Kings in their 5-0 blanking of the Calgary Flames. Budaj made 24 saves for his 12th career shutout while Setoguchi netted two goals as LA earned its first regulation win since April 7, 2016, a stretch of 17 games.

Honorable Mention: Tomas Plekanec’s shorthanded goal would stand as the game winner as the Montreal Canadiens edged the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4. Alex Galchenyuk scored his fourth of the season and has six points in five games. Montreal improved to 9-0-0 when scoring first this season and 7-0-0 at Bell Centre … Mark Letestu scored the only goal in the shootout as the Edmonton Oilers beat the New York Islanders 4-3. Cam Talbot made 30 saves and Patrick Maroon and Matthew Benning recorded two points a piece as the Oilers won for the first time in four games … Robin Lehner made 32 saves and Kyle Okposo and Sam Reinhart scored in the third period to help give the Buffalo Sabres a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. The win was Buffalo’s fourth in five games. Lehner threw his hat in the “save of the year” ring with this stop on J.G. Pageau:

Roberto Luongo made this great glove stop on Nicklas Backstrom:

The Tampa Bay Lightning scored four unanswered goals, including the first of Braydon Point’s career, as they dropped the New Jersey Devils 4-1. Ben Bishop made 37 saves and Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman each scored a goal and assisted on another … Derek Stepan and Kevin Hayes scored shorthanded goals to help lead the New York Rangers past the Boston Bruins 5-2. Stepan would finish with three points and Antti Raanta stopped 35 shots. New York has now won four in a row and seven of eight. Pavel Buchnevich scored his first NHL goal … Tyler Bozak posted two goals and an assist while James van Riemsdyk recorded three helpers as the Maple Leafs doubled up the Vancouver Canucks 6-3. According to the AP, it was the 15th multi-goal game of Bozak’s career and seventh for a Leafs player this season … Patrick Kane’s power play 7:40 into the second period broke a 2-2 tie and helped give the Chicago Blackhawks a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars. Corey Crawford finished with 31 saves … Jaccob Slavin’s goal in the shootout helped the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators. Cam Ward made 35 shots in regulation and overtime and then stopped all three Nashville shootout attempts … Vladimir Tarasenko’s goal with 43 seconds left in overtime gave the Blues a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jay Bouwmeester, who was honored beforehand for playing in game No. 1,000 earlier in the week, tied things early in the third period with his first of the season. Tarasenko’s goal snapped a personal seven-game goal drought.

T.J. Oshie scored a tying goal midway through the second and later snapped a 2-2 in the third period as the Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers 4-2 for their fifth straight win. Oshie, Alex Ovechin and Lars Eller scored in a span of 4:45 in the third to turn the game in Washington’s favor. Oshie’s goals helped make it a special night for one lucky fan of his:

Did You Know? “The Islanders came in with a nine-game home winning streak against the Oilers. Edmonton’s last road victory over the Islanders was a 4-2 triumph at Nassau Coliseum on Dec. 14, 1999.” (AP)

Dishonorable Mention: Boston and Philadelphia saw their three-game winning streaks snapped … Referee Dean Morton took a puck to the head during the second period of Bruins-Rangers and did not return … The Flyers haven’t won in their last six visits to Bell Centre … Nail Yakupov was a healthy scratch for the first time this season … The Canucks have now dropped eight in a row … That Leafs/Canucks game really devolved in the third period … Jaromir Jagr is day-to-day after a groin cramp ended his night in the first period … Jesse Puljujarvi left the game after this knee-on-knee hit by Dennis Seidenberg: